5 Holiday Cooking Shows On Netflix, Ranked Worst To Best

We don't know about you, but we think there's nothing cozier during any holiday season than settling down and indulging in some seasonally appropriate cooking shows. It's not uncommon for these shows to capitalize on seasonal vibes, and you may have noticed that streaming services are ripe with holiday specials around Halloween, Christmastime, and even Valentine's Day or the Fourth of July. If you happen to have a Netflix subscription (and a fondness for food), you've probably found yourself browsing the platform to binge-watch these series around your favorite holiday.

There's something warming about cooking up some special food for the holidays — or better yet, watching someone else do it — whether it's spooky vegan Halloween treats or turning a pineapple stem into a Christmas tree centerpiece. A good holiday-themed cooking show doesn't just rely on the food to showcase the holiday in question, though. Our favorite ones go all out, with the set design fully decked out, the hosts playing along with the theme, and even the script making fun holiday references. 

Though Netflix doesn't have an abundance of holiday cooking shows, the ones it does feature are definitely entertaining, to say the least. Ready to get into the holiday spirit? We watched several of Netflix's holiday-themed cooking shows and ranked them from worst to best.

It's no secret that David Chang is a genius in the culinary world. From founding the NYC-based restaurant Momofuku to winning six James Beard Awards and even being named a Time 100 honoree, his accolades speak for themselves. Chang's been on the scene long enough to have evolved significantly in his career; not only has the chef changed his idea of perfection over the years, but he's also gone on to host numerous cooking shows on streaming platforms. One of those shows is Netflix's "Dinner Time Live with David Chang," which sees the titular chef cooking live for a host of celebrity guests who vary between episodes.

Since premiering in January 2024, it already expanded to include a holiday edition by the time Season 2 premiered that October, and it's still rolling out new episodes, as of this writing. The holiday-centric episodes are inventive and have so far either focused on a holiday-related flavor or cuisine featured on a specific holiday. It was a fun move for the first episode to center around pumpkin spice, which Chang is known to hate. The Oktoberfest episode is also a delight, as it even roped in German comedian and actor Flula Borg to provide some comic relief.

Each episode of "Dinner Time Live with David Chang: Holiday Edition" features thoughtful, holiday-themed set decorations, and we appreciate watching a masterful chef cook fun holiday favorites for his guests. However, it's a bit lacking when it comes to the host and guests embodying the holiday theme, and we think the set design could be taken further.

The Netflix baking competition "Sugar Rush" premiered in 2018 and merely a year later expanded its repertoire to include a Christmas edition. The competition show features a new round of contestants every episode, with the final winner taking home a $10,000 prize. 

"Sugar Rush Christmas" stays true to the original show in terms of structure: the first challenge is to bake cupcakes, the second challenges contestants to make confections, and the third is focused on baking cakes. Because the contestants are professional bakers in their daily lives, they're judged by professional chefs Candace Nelson and Adriano Zumbo (along with that episode's guest judge) based on the look and taste of their bakes, as well as completing them within a strict time limit.

"Sugar Rush Christmas" certainly puts a fun, seasonal twist on the series. The set is dotted with Christmas trees and poinsettias, and each challenge sees contestants grappling to create bakes of a different Christmas theme. For example, one cupcake challenge is Charlie Brown-themed, and another one calls contestants to make stunning igloo cakes. But other than the set design and the actual challenges — and the occasional moment when one of the judges or a contestant is dressed for the theme — it's hard to detect much holiday festivity. Opportunities for cheerful holiday quips aren't grasped as often as they could be, and the judges and host Hunter March don't seem to fully embrace the Christmas theme, tending to instead treat the show like a simple wintery take on the classic. 

The Emmy-nominated Netflix baking show "Nailed It!" hardly needs any introduction. This series is playful and doesn't take itself too seriously; a welcome change in the usual atmosphere of cooking competition shows. Each episode sees an amateur baker trying their best to recreate a visually stunning bake under time pressure, and more often than not, they don't really "nail" their bakes — but that's all part of the fun. Despite poking fun at itself, the presenters — comedian Nicole Byer and chef Jacques Torres — do give helpful feedback to the bakers (along with each episode's guest judge) that even the casual viewer can learn from.

You won't find "Nailed It! Halloween" under a separate Netflix entry; instead, the entire seventh season of the show, which was released in 2022, is Halloween-themed. As usual with this series, it goes over-the-top in every aspect, from set design to Byer's outfits. It's clear that no expense was spared in decking out this set for spooky season; it's fully orange and purple with pumpkins everywhere, and Byer consistently wears her Halloween best. The show also employs creative editing techniques and sound effects (like thunderclaps to transition between scenes) to maximize on the Halloween theme, something that makes this season in particular stand out. 

The only reason "Nailed It! Halloween" ranks lower than the next cooking show on our list is because we wish it had dug more into the Halloween inspiration behind it. Instead, many episodes choose to Halloween-ify bakes based on other Netflix series, like "Cobra Kai" and "Umbrella Academy" — which just muddies the theme a bit in our opinion. 

We know we're double-dipping a bit here, but we think each holiday version of "Nailed It!" deserves its own spot on our list. Unlike our last pick, "Nailed It! Holiday!" is its own separate Netflix title that boasts 13 episodes of holiday baking fun. This version of the popular baking competition only ran for two seasons in 2018 and 2019, but it cranks its fun up to 10, which only works in its favor. From introducing its bakers to joyful holiday music to sporting a set full of garland, ornaments, Christmas trees, and nutcrackers, it's clear that the folks behind "Nailed It! Holiday!" pulled out all the stops when crafting this edition of the beloved show.

Unlike "Nailed It! Halloween," this version really capitalizes on the holiday theme in its baking challenges. Contestants are faced with challenges like creating a beautiful nativity scene, crafting a creative ski slope scene, and making dreidels to celebrate Hanukkah. Though you may not be floored by each of the amateur bakers' attempts at recreating visually stunning pieces, you're sure to be entertained watching them try. 

We also appreciate the show's use of holiday music for creating a Christmas-y atmosphere. As they always do, hosts and judges Nicole Byers and Jacques Torres engage in fun banter. "Nailed It! Holiday!" is a joy to watch, and it only comes in second to our top choice because, though it's wildly entertaining, you may not learn a ton about baking from it.

If you, too, mourned the departure of host Matt Lucas or have found yourself researching Paul Hollywood's cookie tricks or Prue Leith's Christmas baking tips, you probably have a guess as to what our top choice is. We couldn't complete our list of Netflix holiday cooking shows without including our absolute favorite: the holidays edition of "The Great British Baking Show." Though each season of this themed series only features two episodes (generally, one for Christmas and one for New Year's), it has a well-rounded mix of everything we enjoyed about our previous picks — plus a few elements that make it extra special. 

Are you a fan of the regular version of this long-running series? Then you'll be delighted to know that most episodes of "The Great British Baking Show: Holidays" bring back four bakers from previous seasons. The joy of seeing some of our favorite contestants in the tent again is unmatched, and seeing the tent decked in holiday decorations is all we need to get in the holiday spirit. We particularly like this holiday cooking show because these home bakers have the down-to-earth quality of the contestants featured on "Nailed It!" along with the baking expertise of "Sugar Rush" contestants.

All of the contestants' bakes are holiday-themed, of course, and we like that the bakers have to make different variations of the same thing, like a Yule log or Icelandic flatbread. Festive cheer abounds with everyone and everything decked out in holiday colors — even the show's signature music incorporates jingle bells.

When ranking our favorite of Netflix's holiday cooking shows, there were several elements we took into account. First and foremost, the holiday theme had to be infused into every aspect of the show to get a high ranking. We wished to see creative set designs, fully invested hosts, and for the competitors to wow us with their bakes. Equally as important as the bakes was each show's entertainment quality: put simply, we wanted to want more once the show was over. 

Shows that accomplished this successfully largely used humor, festive dialogue, and — in the case of "Nailed It!" — employed creative editing in post-production. Ideally, the audience would gain some knowledge from the show, too, whether it's learning some essential items to have for holiday baking or even just getting some education on traditional holiday bakes around the world — which "The Great British Baking Show: Holidays" does particularly well.